Please
by Teigra05
Summary: This fanfic is inspired by Awskitee amazing artwork. Gajeel has to leave Levy behind on the battlefield to save her, even though she pleads with him not to leave. Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me, they belong to Hiro Mashima.
1. Chapter 1

"You told me once to never leave your side," she shouted at his back, tears forming in her eyes and an unexplainable rage building in her chest. "What makes you think I would leave it now?!"

The iron dragon slayer said nothing, keeping his back to her throughout her entire rampage. What the little blue-haired script mage couldn't see was the way his eyes darkened and his jaw clenched tightly at her pleading.

He didn't want to do this. He had told himself after he joined Fairy Tail that he would never hurt her again. That he would do whatever it took to keep her safe and happy. And yet here he was again, making her cry and causing her unbearable pain.

"Gajeel," she said so quietly that it was only his enhanced dragon slayer senses that allowed him to hear her over the noise of the battle. "Please," she sobbed placing her hands on his arms and leaning her head against his back. "Don't leave me."

Her plea nearly sent him over the edge. He clenched his teeth tighter until they ground together painfully, and a single tear ran down his cheek.

After taking a moment to try and gain control of his voice he said flatly, "Sorry Shrimp, but I have no choice."

He felt her head lift from his back at that statement and his gut twisted, wishing she hadn't moved, wanting to feel her touch one last time. "Don't have a choice?" she said softly, her voice thick from crying. "There's always a choice Gajeel. Please you don't have to do this."

At that he turned and looked back at her, his normally cold, hard eyes soft. "Yes," he said in a tight voice."I do. I have to do this to protect the guild. To protect you."

Her large hazel eyes stared up at him, filled to the brim as tears streamed down her cheeks, washing paths through the grime and blood. "Idiot!"she shouted as she flung herself at his chest, pounding with her tiny fists and sobbing so hard that her entire body shook.

For a few moments, Gajeel did nothing. Merely standing there letting her take out her rage and grief on his already bruised and bloodied chest. Once her hits began to weaken, he carefully grabbed her arms and pulled her close, wrapping his arms tightly around her as though the action could protect her from the pain he was causing her. He felt her arms wrap around his waist tightly, and they stood there for a few short moments, completely ignoring the battle raging around them.

After what seemed like only seconds, Gajeel leaned down and gently kissed Levy's tear-stained cheek. "Goodbye Levy," he whispered softly in her ear. "I love you."

And with that, he unhooked her arms from around his waist, backed away a few steps, and turned and walked away. His heart twisting as he walked away from the best thing he had ever had.

Levy fell to her knees in the mud, her fists clenching on her thighs as tears dotted the backs of her bloody hands. Suddenly, she threw her head back and screamed over the sounds of the raging battle, "GAJEEL!"

She dropped her face into her hands, sobbing uncontrollably, hardly caring that she was surrounded on all sides by enemies. He was gone. Her dragon slayer was gone and at that point in time nothing else mattered.

"I hate you," she whispered softly.


	2. Chapter 2

Gajeel gritted his teeth as he turned his back on the woman he loved more than life itself. He knew he had to do this, for her, to protect her. But damn did it hurt. He clenched his fists to dig his sharp dragon claws into his skin, hoping that some form of bodily pain might ease the pain he was feeling in his heart. But his nails only scrapped against hard iron, his body instinctively knowing that he was going to need all the protection he could get.

He could hear Levy's cry of agony, but he did his best to block it out, heading on towards the thick of battle, knowing that nothing he could do now could ease her pain. But one thing he could do was take down the dragons that threatened her, even if he went down with them.

He headed towards the nearest dragon, a huge red beast whose scales shone like fire and who shot red sparks of lightning towards anything that got too close.

Gajeel gritted his teeth before letting out a roar and flying at the dragon, one arm an iron club and the other a double edged sword. He pummeled at the dragon's neck with his club while simultaneously slashing at its face with his sword, hoping to hit an eye.

His blows merely bounced off the dragon, sending sparks flying into the air. He landed on the ground in a crouch, letting out a "tch" of annoyance. The dragon merely let out a deep, growling laugh.

Gajeel stood and took in a huge breath of air, letting it out with a yell of, "ROAR OF THE IRON DRAGON!"

As the dust cleared, and the lingering remains of his breath attack dissipated, he stood there smirking at where the dragon had stood, only to take a step back in shock when the air cleared enough for him to see. The dragon still stood! And it looked none the worse for wear!

Gajeel growled deep in his throat, readying himself to fly once more at the beast, when suddenly the dragon swung its tail around its body, knocking Gajeel backwards before it pinned him to the ground with its claws.

Gajeel struggled and beat at the dragon's claws to no avail. "_Shit..." _he whispered to himself. So this was it. This was how he was going down.

He closed his eyes in defeat, only to open them a moment later in surprise as the weight was lifted off his body. What he saw left him speechless.

"Metalicana!" Gajeel shouted, shocked and at the same time relieved and ecstatic to see his old man again. "Where the hell have you been you giant hunk of scrap metal?!"

"Where I've been is my business," the iron dragon growled back, his claws pinning the red dragon down by the neck and his head turned ever so slightly towards Gajeel. "But there is no time for that now brat. We've got work to do!"

Gajeel grinned widely and jumped to his feet, feeling refreshed and ready to do some ass-kicking. He leaped up beside Metalicana and together they beat back the red dragon. The wind rushed around like a storm as they let off iron dragon roars. Their opponent howled in fury and pain as the claws of the iron dragons beat against, and finally broke through, it's thick hide.

They were just about to deliver the final blows, when an all too familiar shriek from across the battle field reached Gajeel's ears. He whipped around, his eyes fearfully scanning the battle for any sign of the familiar blue hair.

When his eyes finally found the spot of bright color on the otherwise dark battlefield, he felt as though his heart had stopped. Levy was backed up against a crumbling brick wall, the mini dragons surrounding her on all sides, her eyes stretched wide in terror and her mouth open in a silent scream.

"Levy," Gajeel whispered, his muscles tensing as he prepared to run to her side. He stopped, suddenly remembering Metalicana and the giant red dragon they were fighting.

"Go," he heard Metalicana grumble behind him. Gajeel turned, eyes wide to face his father. "I can smell your fear for her," Metalicana continued, his giant claws once again across his opponent's neck. "Go to her brat. I can handle this."

Gajeel grinned widely at the dragon and then spun on his heel and raced across the battlefield towards Levy. His arm an iron club, he ran, pummeling and dodging enemies as he went. "Levy!" he roared.

Levy's back scraped against the brick wall behind her, looking desperately to her left and right to find an escape route. Her magic was dangerously low and her knees trembled, threatening to give way beneath her.

_"So this is it," _she thought to herself. _"This is how I'm going to die. At least I will be able to see Gajeel again..."_

She closed her eyes tightly, awaiting the inevitable, when she suddenly heard a familiar roar heading across the battlefield towards her. Her eyes flew open and she caught sight of the familiar glint of iron reflecting the light of the fires that burned around them.

"Gajeel!" she screamed in happiness, forgetting for a moment about the small dragons surrounding her. He looked battered and bruised, with cuts up and down his body and his shirt shredded. But other than that, he looked no worse for wear. Tears gathered in her eyes when suddenly she heard a screech that brought her crashing back to reality.

The mouths of the mini dragons around her were glowing as they prepared to fire their lasers at her. "Levy!" Gajeel roared. "Duck!"

At his command, Levy fell to her knees, her arms crossed over her head as the dragons let loose their lasers. The beams collided and exploded above her head. The next thing she knew, a pair of black boots landed inches from her face. She looked up to see Gajeel standing over her, slamming his iron club into the dragons, causing them to disappear in a puff of gold.

He continued fighting above her for a few moments more before suddenly, all the baby dragons surrounding them froze and lifted their muzzles toward the sky. They let out a collective shriek and simultaneously disappeared.

The battlefield fell silent. Levy slowly stood up from her position on the ground, gripping on to the back of Gajeel's shirts while they looked around in confusion for a few moments. After it was clear that all the dragons were gone, Levy quickly brought herself around in front of Gajeel, placing her hands on either side of his face as if to make sure he was real.

Tears formed in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "Gajeel?" she said, her brown eyes desperately searching his red ones.

He placed his large, calloused hands over her tiny ones and gave his signature chuckle. "Gihi. Yeah Shrimp, it's me."

Giving into her joy, she jumped at the iron dragon slayer, throwing her arms around his neck and holding him tightly. Gajeel froze for a moment, taken by surprise, before slowly circling his arms around her waist and burying his face in her neck, drinking in her scent.

_She was alive. Thank the gods, his bookworm was alive. _

They stood like that a few moments, merely drinking each other in, before Levy pulled back to look at him. "But wait," she said slowly. He could see the wheels in her brain turning, and he chuckled to himself. Leave it to Levy to start worry about _why _he was alive instead of just being glad that he was. "What happened? How are you alright?"

"Tch," he spat, feigning anger. "What? Did you not think I was tough enough to take on a dragon by ma'self?"

"It's not that," Levy said quickly. "It's just..."

Gajeel grinned wickedly as she desperately searched for a reason that wouldn't injure his pride. He spotted a dark speck in the sky behind Levy's head and knew instantly who it was. He decided to end Levy's turmoil. "Alright..."he said. "So I didn't beat the dragon _completely_ by myself..."

He trailed off as Metalicana landed with an earthshaking _thud_ behind them. Levy jumped and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes stretched wide and she scrambled out of Gajeel's arms, ducking quickly behind his back.

Gajeel laughed. "Gihi! Shrimp, I wan' you to meet Metalicana. My old man."

Levy paused for a moment as the news sank in, the she quickly scurried out from behind Gajeel and bowed deeply. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said formly, her voice shaking ever so slightly. "I'm very sorry about the way I reacted. It's just..."

"No need to explain child," Metalicana grumbled, cutting Levy off. "I am just happy to know that this brat of mine has found himself a mate."

Levy's face turned bright red and she stood up quickly, looking at Metalicana with eyes as wide as saucers. She was about to protest when Gajeel sauntered up behind her and slung his arm around her shoulders. "That's right old man," he said with pride, a huge smile stretching across his face. "I found myself the best mate a dragon could have." With that, he leaned down and captured Levy's lips with his. She stiffened for a moment, before slowly losing herself in the kiss, falling against Gajeel's muscular chest.

Metalicana watched the scene before him with amusement for a few moments before letting out a deep, rumbling laugh that shook the ground. Levy and Gajeel broke apart, brought back to reality. They stared at each other for a moment, both red with embarrassment before joining Metalicana in their own bout of laughter, glad to be alive and be in each other's arms.


End file.
